One of my favourite songs by gospel icon Sfiso Ncwane is entitled Kulungile Baba. You may know it? It’s a firm fan favourite. But as I walked into the Grace Bible Church in Soweto on Friday morning, the words of the song stirred deep inside my heart.

Hong Kong authorities have made their third big seizure of illegal ivory in three months after confiscating more than a ton of the elephant tusks worth $1.4 million.

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The city's customs department said it seized 779 pieces of ivory weighing about 1 300 kilograms. The department said Friday that the ivory was found in a shipping container sent to the Hong Kong port.

The discovery in late October of nearly four tons in two shipments worth $3.4 million was the city's biggest seizure in a single operation. A shipment found in November was about the same size as the one found Thursday.

The city did not release more details. Most illegal ivory is obtained through the wildlife trade in Africa to be used in ornamental items.